NFL continues to be covered in Ivy – Ivy Leaguers, that is

The Ivy League’s impact on the NFL isn’t simply about tuning into games on a Sunday and watching Justin Watson catch passes for the Super Bowl champions or Foye Oluokun racking up league-high tackle totals.

No, the NFL is covered in Ivy through a 24/7/365 experience.

Ivy League alumni who are active players may be front and center on game day, but there also are head coaches, assistant coaches, team owners, front office executives and league decision-makers, even some of the more well-known media members across America’s most popular sport.

It surely isn’t surprising given the Ivy League’s rich football tradition, and it’s a sign of how the Ancient Eight’s mix of academics and athletics prepares people for the NFL. Strong traits such as character, accountability, communication and collaboration, critical thinking and determination are common among Ivy Leaguers, says Princeton head coach Bob Surace ’90.

“The players in our league have balanced being exceptional athletes and exceptional students many years prior to going to college,” said Surace, who coached in the NFL before he returned to his alma mater in 2010, “so most have an excellent foundation to reach their ability in both areas.” 

PLAYERS

A dozen former Ivy players appeared in NFL games in the 2022 season and Penn’s Justin Watson ‘18 was the last one standing, catching two passes for first downs during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. 

It came just two years after the wide receiver was part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning squad and allowed him to join five other former Ivy players on multiple world champions. It also marked the fifth straight year in which a former Ivy player was on the winning team’s active roster or practice squad.

Other Ivy Leaguers set themselves apart in 2022 as well. Yale’s Foye Oluokun ’18 became the first player to lead the NFL in tackles in consecutive seasons since 1992, this time with the Jacksonville Jaguars after the linebacker did so with the Atlanta Falcons in the 2021 season.

Harvard’s Kyle Juszczyk ’13 remained an NFL standard as the San Francisco 49ers’ fullback, earning his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl nomination – the second-most ever among Ivy Leaguers to the eight of Penn’s legendary two-way player Chuck Bednarik, who also was the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 1949. 

Juszczyk, “Juice” to many, was utilized in a number of roles when he played for the Crimson and is a product of their tight end factory that included Anthony Firkser ’17 (Falcons) and Cameron Brate ’14 (Buccaneers, 2020 Super Bowl champion) in the 2022 season, and in recent seasons a quintet along with Tyler Ott ’14 and Ben Braunecker ’16.

“Most of these guys were not highly recruited by FBS standards, but they had unusually strong character,” said Tim Murphy, whose Harvard head coaching tenure includes over 35 players signing NFL contracts, “that intangible mix of work ethic, toughness and resiliency that transcended what many people thought of their ability to play at the highest level in college and the NFL. Character might be our most sought-after trait in the recruiting process because, though tough to quantify, I believe it is the most important factor when trying to extrapolate potential.”

Such a description also defines Yale’s Rodney Thomas II ’22. Like Oluokun, a safety with the Bulldogs, Thomas outperformed his late-round draft selection by the Indianapolis Colts, collecting 50 tackles and four interceptions in his rookie season. He also drew attention off the field, when only one day after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was hospitalized following cardiac arrest during a Monday night game, Thomas drove 100 miles to visit and support his former high school teammate.

Other Ivy Leaguers to appear in 2022 NFL games were Brown’s Michael Hoecht ’20, who was one season removed from a Super Bowl title with the Los Angeles Rams; the Penn trio of Brandon Copeland ’13 (Baltimore Ravens), Prince Emili ’22 (Bills) and Greg Van Roten ’12 (Bills); Yale’s Dieter Eiselen ’20 (Chicago Bears); and Princeton’s Jesper Horsted ’19 (Las Vegas Raiders).

“NFL teams want talent, of course, but they also want players that are going to maximize their ability and reach their ceilings as players,” said Princeton’s Ross Tucker ’01, who played seven seasons in the NFL and now covers it as a media member. “The same type of kid who is mature enough to choose to attend an Ivy League school for the options it will give them post-football is also a great bet to be a smart player at the next level who has the type of routine and professional approach that allows them to become the best players they are physically capable of being.”

In NFL history, well more than 300 former Ivy League players have appeared in games, with three-quarters of them drafted into the league. 

The next man up? Surely, Princeton’s All-America wide receiver Andrei Iosivas ‘23, who secured the Ivy League’s receiving Triple Crown (receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches) in 2022 and is on the radar of NFL teams.

COACHES

NFL head coaching positions are hard to come by – only 32, of course – and two of them belong to Ivy Leaguers.

In 2022, Penn’s Kevin Stefanski ’04 completed his third season guiding the Cleveland Browns. The one-time Quakers’ defensive back earned 2020 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year in his first season.

Yale’s Mike McDaniel ’05 was a first-year head coach in 2022, and he led the Miami Dolphins to their first playoff appearance in six years. His hiring made him the 25th Ivy Leaguer to become an NFL head coach.

Other Ivy Leaguers are in assistant coaching roles as well. Included is Dartmouth’s Matt Burke ’98, once dubbed the most interesting man in the NFL due to some of his off-the-field pursuits, who in February 2023, became the Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator.

In addition, the Ivy League has been at the forefront of developing female coaches. Off the Dartmouth staff, Callie Brownson became the first female quality control coach to be hired by an NFL team (Bills), and she’s gone on to become the Cleveland Browns’ chief of staff. Jennifer King was then hired by the Washington Commanders for quality control, eventually becoming an assistant running backs coach as the NFL’s first African-American female assistant coach. Their teams squared off in a 2020 game.

FRONT OFFICE/OWNERSHIP

The biggest group of Ivy League graduates in the NFL serve in the front office of various teams, some considered to be one of the faces of a franchise and many others behind the scenes making it all come together.

Of course, it all starts at the top with team ownership, and one Ivy Leaguer happens to be one of the most successful in NFL history, Columbia’s Robert Kraft ’63, who later attended Harvard Business School. Under Kraft, the New England Patriots have won six Super Bowls, most recently with the 2018 season.

Dartmouth’s Mike Brown ’57 has been an NFL team owner even longer than Kraft. His family synonymous with the Cincinnati Bengals, he became the franchise’s owner in 1991. In addition, Columbia’s Javier Loya ‘91 is a co-owner of the Texans.

The list of high-ranking team executives runs deep with Ivy Leaguers, from Brown’s Mark Donovan ’88 and Mike Borgonzi ’02, the president and assistant general manager, respectively, of the world champion Chiefs; to Harvard’s Paul DePodesta ’95, Andrew Berry ’09 and Tyler Hamblin ’15, the Browns’ chief strategy office, general manager and director of football operations, respectively; to Princeton’s Damani Leech ’98, president of the Denver Broncos; to Dartmouth’s Katie Blackburn ’86 (Ivy ice hockey), the Bengals’ executive vice president, Kevin Demoff ’99 and Tony Pastoors ’10, the Rams’ chiefs operating officer and vice president of football/business administration, respectively, and Chris Blanco ’07, the Minnesota Vikings’ director of pro personnel.

Scouting roles are particularly prevalent among Ivy Leaguers, and other graduates hold positions in business administration and development, corporate strategy, data analysis and research, and player affairs. The list goes on and on.

LEAGUE

Just as former Ivy Leaguers are making key decisions for NFL teams, they are doing the same for the league and its players association.

Brown’s David Gardi ’93 serves as the NFL’s senior vice president of football operations, ensuring the league is in compliance with policy, process and rules. 

Former Princeton running back Keith Elias ’94 could probably still pick up a first down if needed, but he now works for the NFL as the senior director of player engagement, helping players after their careers on the field. In addition, Dartmouth’s Lisa Friel ’79 (Ivy basketball and tennis) is the league’s senior vice president and special counsel for investigations; Penn’s Sean Estada ‘07 a senior manager in labor operations; and Cornell’s Kevin Boothe ’05, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, the director of the NFL management council.

Cornell’s JC Tretter ’13 retired after a nine-year NFL career in March 2022, but he has remained on for a second term as the NFLPA president. He helped guide the players through the 2020 COVID season, playing a part in the creation of health and safety protocols.

Sean Sansiveri ’05 from Cornell also works for the NFLPA as vice president of business and legal affairs, also playing a key role in health and safety initiatives.

MEDIA

It may sound strange, but some of the more visible Ivy Leaguers to NFL fans don’t even work for the league or a team. All week long, media members are telling the NFL story, and in turn plenty are defining the Ivy League story.

On Sundays, it doesn’t get much bigger than Harvard’s James Brown ’73 (Ivy basketball) anchoring CBS’ studio coverage. In prime time, NBC’s pregame show features the analysis of Princeton’s Jason Garrett ’89, who, of course, was a quarterback on two Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl-winning teams and later served as their head coach for 10 seasons. 

Harvard’s Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 didn’t just become the first quarterback to make starts for a record nine different teams in a 17-year career that ended after the 2021 campaign, but he’s taken his FitzMagic to Amazon Prime’s Thursday night broadcasts in a studio analyst’s role.  

Penn’s Tom Rinaldi, who also earned a graduate degree at Columbia, is widely regarded as the best storyteller in sports media, something he does with Fox Sports’ NFL coverage. Also, Columbia’s Ian Rappaport ‘02 of NFL Network has fans coming back for more and more of his insider’s information.

Princeton’s Kyle Brandt ’01 used to run behind the blocking of Ross Tucker ’01, and it now feels like they are everywhere while each NFL week builds. Fans wake up to Brandt during the week on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” while Tucker is one of the more versatile personalities across NFL TV, radio and podcasts.

It can be Cornell’s Aditi Kinkhabwala on the sidelines of CBS broadcasts or Columbia’s former All-Pro Marcellus Wiley ’97 across various platforms or others, but everywhere you turn, you’ll find former Ivy Leaguers talking NFL.

Yes, the NFL is covered in Ivy, and it sure looks great.